Pelosi Heaps Praise On Bush For His ‘Beautiful Words’ On Immigration

(CNSnews.com)— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised former President George W. Bush for the “beautiful words” on immigration voiced by the former president at a naturalization ceremony in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.

“In the beautiful words of President Bush, that he spoke about yesterday in his speech and has over time, we have to respect what immigration is to our country.

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"I believe that it is the source of constant reinvigoration of America,” Pelosi said Thursday during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill, which can be viewed on CSPAN.

“I’ve said over and over again that President Bush had been the best on immigration. He understood it intellectually. He believed in it. As a former governor of Texas, he had knowledge about why it would really be important. And unfortunately, he couldn’t convince his own party of that when he was president.”

Pelosi’s lavish praise was in sharp contrast to her characterization of Bush as “a total failure” during a July 17, 2008 interview on CNN.

The San Francisco Democrat added that she believes the immigration reform bill will pass in the House “for the simple reason that the American people want us to have it.”

“President George W. Bush urged a positive resolution to the debate and expressed hope that we keep a benevolent spirit in mind and we understand contributions immigrants make to our country,” Pelosi stated.

Bush said in his speech that while America is a nation of immigrants, it is also a nation of laws, and that both tradition and law must be upheld while Congress debates changes in the nation’s immigration policies.

“America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time,” he said.

“We can uphold our traditions of assimilating immigrants and honoring our heritage of a nation built on the rule of law. But we have a problem. The laws governing the immigration system aren’t working. The system is broken. We’re now in an important debate in reforming those laws, and that’s good.” he added.

Former President George W. Bush (AP photo)

“I don’t intend to get involved in the politics or the specifics of policy,” the former president stated, “but I do hope that there is a positive resolution to the debate.

"And I hope during the debate, that we keep a benevolent spirit in mind, and we understand the contributions immigrants make to our country. We must remember that the vast majority of immigrants are decent people that work hard and support their families and practice their faith and lead responsible lives.”